Let's Make a Deal, Mr. Knight

"J... jinxing?"

Cleveland was both startled and delighted.

He was startled that the knowledgeable, mysterious Easterner actually knew about it.

He was delighted because, if Kang De knew about it, might he also know a way to break the jinx?

"Is there a way to fix it?" he asked in a trembling voice.

Kang De looked him up and down, then shook his head.

The knight's expression turned utterly miserable.

Seeing that, Kang De asked in surprise, "Is it really that accurate?"

The knight, who had been sitting upright and looking full of energy, wore the pained expression of someone recalling an unbearable past.

Kang De was a decent man, and his conversation with the knight today had been fairly pleasant. At least the man wasn't some brainless idiot. Besides, although their first encounter had been less than friendly, that was in the past. Kang De hadn't suffered any losses and had even smacked the guy in the head a couple of times, so they were even.

So when he saw the knight's expression, he couldn't help offering some comfort.

"This might not be as uncanny as you think," he said. "Have you heard of psychological suggestion? Once you start believing something, whenever something similar happens by coincidence, you'll automatically connect it to that belief. In fact, there are plenty of things that don't fit, but you subconsciously ignore them. That's called survivorship bias..."

Sure enough, it worked. The knight was left staring in bewilderment.

He pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked both hopeful and conflicted.

He looked at Kang De and said quietly, "Earlier, when you were carried into the altar to awaken your extraordinary power, I said a few things. I thought I might as well try. If it really worked, that would be wonderful, and even if it didn't, there'd be no harm done. You could just take it as me saying a few things out of jealousy..."

Kang De blinked. "What did you say?"

The knight fidgeted, then sighed. "I said that even if there was an altar on the island, it would only be a small one, and it wouldn't be dedicated to any powerful ancient hero. I also said you wouldn't gain any great power..."

As for his earlier speculation about a portal to another world, he didn't mention it at all.

What a joke. That was a fairy tale.

"..."

"..."

The two stared at each other.

The knight looked at Kang De, almost in tears.

He didn't know what answer he wanted.

If he had to choose... he still hoped Kang De had gained a fairly powerful ability.

After all, Kang De was the one the princess had chosen.

This enchanting art of mine... should be a pretty powerful ability, right?

Instead of answering his question, Kang De asked, "That alchemy master Suowosi you mentioned, the one who enchanted that sword—is he really that good?"

The knight was disappointed not to get an answer, but he still replied solemnly, "Master Suowosi is renowned throughout the nations for his superb magical skills. He's a very famous alchemist on the continent."

That answer was no damn use, so Kang De asked directly, "Are there many people more capable than him?"

The knight replied, "Three years ago, Master Suowosi was selected for Arcane magazine's list of 'The One Hundred Most Influential Masters in Human Alchemy Today.'"

Kang De nodded. "That's pretty good."

He had a rough idea of his enchanting art's prospects now.

Although he lacked the alchemy master's knowledge and training, he could read an Element composition, then extract the corresponding Elements and copy it directly.

He had just given it some thought and had already come up with a plan. Even if he encountered a more complicated Element array that was difficult to reproduce, he still had options. He could try an unorthodox approach: find a way to enchant a camera so it could photograph an Element array, then hook it up to a damn computer and use drawing software to read and analyze it layer by layer. Unfortunately, there probably wasn't an engraving machine or anything like that near the residential complex. Otherwise...

Of course, that was too far off for now.

If the enchantment array on the shortsword was one of Master Suowosi's proudest works, then with a little study and practice, he could probably pass himself off as an alchemy master too.

This kind of cheat... should be pretty powerful, right?

Seeing that Kang De still hadn't said anything, the knight's expression slowly changed.

He said pitifully, "...Mr. Kang De?"

Kang De came back to his senses, reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "Brother, you have to be strong," he said gravely. "Actually, there's nothing so bad about this ability. You have to look at things from both sides..."

He counted on his fingers. "You're from Goth, right? You could use this ability to comment on a battle, or even put out a smokescreen to confuse the enemy. For example..."

Cleveland sighed. "Someone's already thought of that. People from the Court Security Bureau approached me and asked me to make some statements that sounded utterly absurd, and they were willing to pay me, but I refused. Some frivolous nobles also came to me and asked me to publicly declare that their pursuit of certain noble ladies could never succeed, and things like that. I berated them all and sent them away..."

He shook his head. "As a knight, how could I lie against my conscience? Although many of the things I said in the past have been proven completely wrong, they really were judgments I made after careful consideration..."

"Fooling people for your country doesn't count as fooling them."

Kang De couldn't quite understand that way of thinking. He added, "Turning them down so bluntly could easily offend people. You offended officials and rich kids alike. That must cause you a lot of trouble..."

"No trouble." Cleveland's voice was wistful. "My father is, after all, the prime minister of Goth..."

"..."

Fuck.

He was actually the prime minister's son.

Damn it, he was handsome, he could fight, and he was the son of a high-ranking official. Was there no justice?

And he was showing off in front of Kang De.

I'm an heir to socialism, you know!

The flames of class struggle burned fiercely within Kang De, and he inwardly ate three lemons in one go. As an ordinary citizen, he would never know the happiness of a handsome official's son.

Unwilling to lose face in front of this native official's son, he had to pretend nothing was wrong and quietly let the subject drop. He didn't talk about jinxing anymore, either.

Fine, agonize over it for the rest of your life.

After a moment's thought, he said, "Knight Captain Cleveland."

The knight immediately straightened up. "Yes."

Kang De pondered for a moment, then said slowly, "We had a misunderstanding before, but now we've both expressed a willingness to coexist peacefully and decided to put yesterday's conflict behind us. Do you agree?"

"I agree," Cleveland said with a nod.

It wasn't as though there was some irreconcilable blood feud between them.

Besides, his party had a more important mission to carry out. Why would they pick a fight with a mysterious Cathayan on this deserted island?

Recalling how Old Wang looked when discussing business, Kang De said solemnly, "Then please allow me to make a few presumptions. Your party was attacked by the elven navy and came here to hide and regroup. I assume you suffered losses and need to replenish various supplies. Both sides have strength, giving us a basis to negotiate as equals."

The knight's expression turned serious. He nodded. "I agree."

Kang De said, "Humanity's earliest trade began as an exchange of goods each side needed. Sir Knight, here on this deserted island, isolated far out at sea, would you be interested in making a few deals with me?"

Wait, why does that sound so weird?

Forget it. Don't worry about the details.

As a native, Knight Cleveland had no idea how dirty the slang in Chinese internet circles on Earth could be. He nodded earnestly. "I have no objection in principle, but we'll ultimately need Her Highness the princess's approval."

"It's good that you're open to it," Kang De said. "What do you want?"

The knight replied, "Food, alcohol, medicine, fresh fruit... Mr. Kang De, you don't seem to be short of spices."

Spices?

Kang De thought of the rows of shelves and the dozens upon dozens of boxes in the warehouse.

Right, he remembered now. Spices seemed to have been very expensive in medieval Europe. Were they in short supply here too...?

He smiled. "How will you pay?"

"With imperial gold coins," the knight said gravely.

Kang De smiled faintly. "I don't need money."

Damn, showing off feels great.

The knight frowned. "What do you want, sir?"

Kang De smiled.

Elves, Goth, women, ships... when all was said and done, power was what mattered most. Only power could ensure he stayed alive and safe.

Staying alive was what mattered most.

He pushed the box on the table forward. It contained the gifts Tina had chosen.

A shortsword, a magic robe, potions, and a crystal.

Besides the shortsword with its three enchantments, the magic robe was also extraordinary. It let the wearer blend into the darkness and even greatly reduced the sound of their footsteps, making it essential for moving about at night. It also had two Element compositions.

There were three potions, which could temporarily enhance various aspects of the drinker's physical abilities. One strengthened physical power, one enhanced agility and speed, and one strengthened thought.

As for the crystal... it was a mass of concentrated Elements. In Kang De's eyes, it radiated a brilliant light. With just a little extraction, he could obtain extremely pure, concentrated Elements.

These were what Kang De needed.

"I want these," he said. "An equivalent exchange."

The knight frowned, looking somewhat hesitant.

"What's wrong?" Kang De asked.

Just then, a streak of golden light came flying in from the distance. The parrot swooped down from the sky and circled Kang De urgently.

The red feathers on its head had turned completely emerald green.

The parrot shouted, "Blooming in two places! Blooming in two places!"

Kang De's expression changed, and he sprang to his feet. "Where?"

The Black Beasts had come.

And there were two of them.

Where were they?

The parrot shouted, "Foreign hottie! Foreign hottie!"

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P.S. 1: By "toilet elves," I meant the bunch squatting at the Sunwell before they made fools of themselves. You dirty-minded lot, what did you think I meant?

P.S. 2: As usual, please vote...